Global Legal Monitor

Thailand: Six People Charged with Crime of Insulting Royal Family

(May 17, 2017) On May 3, 2017, a criminal court in Bangkok granted Thai police the authority to detain prominent Thai human rights lawyer Prawet Praphanukul and five other people; the six had been separately arrested in different areas of Thailand on April 29, 2017, on charges of violating Criminal Code provision 112 on lèse majesté, insulting or defaming the royal family. (6, Including Human Rights Lawyer, Arrested for Lèse Majesté, PRACHATAI (May 3, 2017).) The other persons arrested are reported to be: “Saran, a 54-year-old university lecturer, Chatchawan, a 24-year-old law student, Danai, a 34-year-old man from Chiang Mai, Wanchai, a 42-year-old man, and Panit, a 26-year-old secondary school teacher.” (Bail Denied to Human Rights Lawyer Facing Up to 50 Years Jail, PRACHATAI (May 12, 2017).) Prawet and Danai are also charged with sedition, under section 116 of the Criminal Code. (Id.) Initial custody is a period of 12 days, with the possibility of its being renewed by the court. (6, Including Human Rights Lawyer, Arrested for Lèse Majesté, supra.)

Because of their alleged sharing of the Facebook post, the detainees are also reportedly charged with violating the Computer Crimes Act. (Bail Denied to Human Rights Lawyer Facing Up to 50 Years Jail, supra.) Thai officials had announced in April that following Somsak’s online account “and liking or sharing his posts on Facebook” could constitute a violation of the Act. (Thailand: Release Six Detained Under Repressive Lèse Majesté Laws, supra.)

Prawet, a human rights lawyer who in the past has defended other Thais charged with lèse majesté, is said to face ten counts of lèse majesté under section 112 of the Criminal Code, three counts of “instigation to violate the Constitution” under the Code’s section 116, and one count of inputting computer data that poses a threat to national security under section 14(3) of the Computer Crimes Act. (Thailand: Release Six Detained Under Repressive Lèse Majesté Laws, supra.) Prawet’s lawyer had submitted a bail request on his client’s behalf, but the court denied bail on the grounds of the suspect’s posing a flight risk, the severity of the charge, and the possibility of the suspect’s interfering with evidence. (Bail Denied to Human Rights Lawyer Facing Up to 50 Years Jail, supra.)

The Relevant Provisions of Law

The provision on lèse majesté of Thailand’s Criminal Code, states: “[w]hoever, defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years.” (Criminal Code, § 112, Royal Family (Sections 107-112), THAILAND LAW LIBRARY.)

Section 116 of the Code, on instigating violation of the Constitution, is among the provisions on offenses against internal security and states:

Whoever makes an appearance to the public by words, writings or any other means which is not an act within the purpose of the Constitution or for expressing an honest opinion or criticism in order:

To bring about a change in the Laws of the Country or the Government by the use of force or violence;

To raise unrest and disaffection amongst the people in a manner likely to cause disturbance in the country; or

To cause the people to transgress the laws of the Country, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding seven years. (Criminal Code, § 116, Offense Internal Security (Sections 113-118), THAILAND LAW LIBRARY.)

Section 14 of the 2007 Computer Crimes Act prescribes a punishment of a prison term of up to five years and a fine not exceeding 100,000 baht (about US$2,897), or both, for anyone who, among other acts, inputs into a computer system any computer data that constitutes commission of an offense relating to national security or terrorism according to the Criminal Code. (Computer-Related Crime Act (B.E. 2550, June 10, 2007), § 14(3), IT SERV (unofficial translation).) Amendments to the Act were adopted on December 16, 2016, published in the Royal Gazette on January 24, 2017, and will become effective on May 24, 2017; although the amending act prescribes new offenses, section 14(3) does not appear to have been changed. (Kowit Somwaiya & Paramee Kerativitayanan, Amendments to Computer Crimes Act of Thailand Finally Published, LAW PLUS (last visited May 16, 2017); Thailand: Computer Crime Act, ARTICLE 19 (Jan. 31, 2017).)

Also in February, David Kaye, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion of freedom of opinion and expression, urged Thai authorities to stop using the royal defamation provisions “as a political tool to stifle critical speech.” (Thailand: UN Rights Expert Concerned by the Continued Use of Lèse-Majesté Prosecutions, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights website (Feb. 7, 2017).) Kaye commented, “[p]ublic figures, including those exercising the highest political authority, may be subject to criticism, and the fact that some forms of expression are considered to be insulting to a public figure is not sufficient to justify restrictions or penalties” and, he added, “[t]he lèse-majesté provision of the Thai Criminal Code is incompatible with international human rights law.” (Id.)